One Foot in the Ground
by blackdog-lz
Summary: When politician's kids turn up missing in the African rainforest, the ODS gets sent out to look for them


Again beta's by faye_darmouth. So a big, fat thanks for her corrections and suggestions, especially to bring the story to a real end  
>Disclaimer: Unfortunately the boys belong to the CBS, else I would have let them continue their adventures.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>One Foot in the Ground <strong>

Billy knew that it wasn't going to be a good day when he was woken up at four in the morning by his ringing cell. He groped for the damned piece of plastic that happily chirped from his nightstand, swiping some trash to the ground in the process.

"This better be the lottery company telling me that I'm getting rich or else I'm going to hang right up," Billy grumbled into the cell once he managed to bring it to the ear not currently squashed into his pillow.

"And good morning to you to Billy," Michael greeted him. Of course, who else but his boss would call him this early? "We have a mission, top priority. We'll be debriefed on the flight. I'll pick you up in ten. And don't forget to bring your hiking gear." Without further niceties, Dorset ended the call.

Billy groaned into his pillow before he dragged himself out of his warm, comfortable bed. At this time, his breakfast would be nowhere near ready, much less waiting for him just outside his door, which meant he was going to have to go hungry for this one unless he managed to find something edible in the mess of his room. He just hoped that Michael would bring coffee.

Showering and brushing his teeth at the same time bought him some time to look for any clean clothes in the wild disarray. And, as Billy shifted through his dirty laundry, he made a mental note to get some washing done as soon as they got back.

Just like the rest of his team, except maybe Rick who had yet to master such paranoid subtleties, Billy had two pre-packed overnight bags already ready. One was packed with suits, while the other was a backpack with hiking hear. As a CIA operative, you never knew just when you had to leave the country on short notice, so it always was better to be prepared. He grabbed the slightly larger hiking pack on his way out, and when he stepped out of the hotel's glass doors, Michael's green Taurus pulled into the drive way. Without waiting for an invitation, Billy threw the pack into the trunk, next to Michael's and got into the passenger seat.

As soon as he was inside, Michael sped off. There were two paper cups of coffee sitting in the middle console and Billy grabbed the one on the left, knowing that it would be black with a bit of sugar, just like he liked it. He took a first sip of the strong brew and sighed.

"It's not nice to be woken up so suddenly, you know. I was having a very lively dream about Miss Aniston sans bikini." He grinned, lopsided, at Michael, who pulled a face, trying to ignore what he just heard, and went for his own coffee.

"Where are we going?" Billy asked, turning serious again.

"Gabon. From what Ferrer told me, a group of politician's kids have gone missing in the rainforest," Michael said and pulled into a private airstrip, where he parked the car in one of the metal hangars.

"Isn't it wet season in the rainforest?" Billy asked as he got out of the Taurus, emptying his coffee and leaving the cup in the console, which earned him a glare from Michael. "What the hell were they doing there?"

Casey was inexplicably already there. "Because they are idiots. They think that just because Daddy has money, they can do whatever they want."

"Maybe. But the rainforest during the wet season?" Billy repeated his question, still not quite believing it. "Couldn't they have gone missing somewhere nice, like Cuba?"

"Obviously not," Michael said and threw both of the empty paper cups in a waste basket close by.

Rick's black car pulled up last. He, too, had a thermos cup in one hand and a hiking backpack in his other. Seeing the hastily closed straps, Billy needed to grin. It looked like Rick didn't have any pre-packed bag just yet. But knowing their youngest recruit, he wouldn't make that mistake again.

Ignoring the faintly amused glances from the rest of the team, Rick asked, "What's happening?"

"Possible abduction," Michael started to explain as he retrieved his carry on from the trunk, throwing Billy's to the Scot and leading them all them toward the waiting plane. "We have no time to waste. Proper briefing will have to wait until we're in the air."

It was a pleasantly new situation for them to be using a private gulfstream. Usually they were sitting in the economy class of a 747 or, worse, in the back of a C-17, when they were on their way to their next mission. But, since there were politicians involved this time, the team apparently had a little bit of luxury.

The mission itself seemed easy at first glance. The two men and two women were all in their late teens or early twenties, each with a mommy or daddy currently in office. Together, they had taken a private vacation to the rainforest of Gabon with plans to hike somewhere in the Wonga Wongue Reserve. The trip had been slated to last ten days, and the kids had promised their parents to contact them daily. None of them had called in the day before and they had also missed their last check in this morning.

The concerned parents had called the CIA director, who had woken Higgins with due political pressure. And Higgins, in turn, had woken Adele and, in the end, the four operatives of the ODS had been dragged out of their beds. The whole phone chain had taken less than an hour.

It was quiet impressive, Billy had to admit that. Being an influential politician did have some advantages. But still, Billy knew that no matter how comfortable their ride over may be, it would soon be different. It always came down to the same principle: you had to work hard in order to survive. And money couldn't always buy you survival. It was a hard lesson to learn and Billy hoped that the missing kids wouldn't have to pay too much to learn it.

Once everyone was up to date with the intel and Michael had set up a rough plan, Billy reclined further back, stretched his longs leg out and started to doze. They still had a few hours of flight ahead of them and it was best used sleeping. None of them knew when they might be able to next.

* * *

><p>They landed in Lambaréné at around noon and from there, were taken to the last known location of the four kids by chopper. The missing group had left a copy of the route they were going to take with their parents, and the CIA had the GPS coordinates from the last call they had made.<p>

Now the helicopter hovered over these coordinates. Since the trees in that part of the National Park where far too high and too dense to land, the team had to rappel. Four ropes fell from the open doors of the helicopter, two on each side.

Rick stared out of the open door and down his rope, his harness already hitched to it. Billy was standing beside him, back already to the open door, ready to go down the rope.

"Is this your first time abbing1 a heli?" he asked, curious now that he saw the slightly panicked look on Rick's face.

Rick's eyes moved from watching the abyss below to Billy and he nodded. The Scot smiled back reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's pretty easy and if you do fall, the canopy will catch you." With that he took a step backwards and was out in the open, slipping down the rope fast.

"If the canopy doesn't catch you, don't think that we will," was Casey's comment, before he, too, disappeared out of the helicopter.

Michael just gave a quick wave and then he also went down the rope.

"That was so helpful," Rick muttered sarcastically to the lonely man sitting with them in the back compartment. The man just shrugged helplessly and watched as Rick stepped into nothingness.

The rest of his team was already waiting on the ground when Rick landed hard. With slightly shaking hands, he unhooked his harness from the rope and as soon as he was finished, Billy clapped him on the back. "See, made it down alive, mate. Nothing to be afraid of."

The four ropes they had used to rappel down crashed onto the ground beside them and Casey started to roll them up. The unknown man in the helicopter had disconnected them from their hangers so that the helicopter could return back to its home base.

While there were thick, dark gray clouds hanging low in the sky, it wasn't raining just yet. Still, the visibility was poor. What little light managed to get past the cloud cover was filtered by the high trees. Orchids and moss were growing on some of the trunks and roots. Old and fresh leaves covered the slightly muddied ground.

Taking a deep breath of the high humid air, Billy went down on one knee and started to examine the ground. The weather conditions were optimal for tracking: the mud and leaves would show clear tracks of the missing hikers, especially since it hadn't rained heavily since they went incommunicado.

The world around him disappeared as Billy concentrated on the ground. It was what he was good at, seeing the little discrepancies in the fauna that told of someone passing by recently. It usually took all his concentration, which would normally leave him vulnerable. But he also knew that the rest of his team had his back and would look out for him while he couldn't.

Distantly, as he was widening his search circle, he heard Rick ask, "Billy can track?"

"One of the best in the company," Michael replied with a bit of pride swinging in his voice. That was definitely one of the reasons why the team had been dispatched on this mission.

It took Billy nearly half an hour until he finally found evidence of other humans passing by. The differences were subtle : a broken off leaf a fern, overturned old leaves and finally half a boot print in the mud.

"I think I found them," Billy said as he stood up straight for the first time since they landed. His teammates had followed him at some distance, careful not to destroy any possible tracks, but still close by to watch over him.

Now they stepped closer and Billy pointed to the boot print. "Could be a size 7, just like Claire Henderson."

Michael nodded and looked roughly in the direction the boot print was leading to. "Then lead the way."

* * *

><p>The light disappeared gradually, but once the sun had gone down, the darkness of the night came fast.<p>

Billy had been able to track the group for several hours and for several miles. The tracks they had left were clear, but then they had no reason to hide them. Luck had been on the ODS' side, because while it had started to drizzle after an hour or two, it hadn't been a down pour. But now it was too dark for Billy to see the tracks and hiking through the forest during the night was dangerous on its own.

During the day, cries of different apes had followed them and songs of strange birds had filled the air, only to be drowned out by trumpeting elephants. So far they had only encountered mosquitoes, but the four operatives knew that far more deadly insects and spiders were living in the forest as well.

They set up camp in a small clearing close to a stream, a stream the four missing kids had to have followed too.

Casey started a small fire after Rick came back from collecting wood. Rick had drawn the short straw on that task-literally. Michael had allocated tasks by drawing sticks, and Rick didn't need to ask to know that Michael had manipulated the game of chance, even if he couldn't figure out how just yet.

The night itself passed calmly; they had two tents that protected them from bugs and other critters and the shimmering fire did the rest.

It was, however, uncomfortable to sleep on the rough ground; even with the camping mats, stones were poking them in their backs. And the high humidity even in the night made it hard for their bodies to cool down.

Billy was the first to be up and about. He had never been able to sleep in hot climates and knowing that there were four kids out there, alone and most likely afraid, robbed him of his last bit of sleep. He rummaged around their camp silently, stoked the fire until it was burning brightly again and started to boil coffee in an old pot.

A thin fog was covering the ground and again,a thin drizzle was coming down, but looking at the clouds through the gaps in the canopy, Billy knew that today they wouldn't be so lucky to miss a heavy down pour.

With a sigh, he sat down and poured himself a coffee. He could appreciate the beauty of the rainforest, especially this early in the morning, but he still couldn't understand why one would want to go hiking here. A holiday relaxing at the beach was more Billy's style.

The material of the other tent started to rustle and seconds later, Casey crawled out. The other operative eyed the coffee pot wearily and poured himself a cup, before sitting down beside Billy.

"I thought you preferred to sleep in," Casey said and, even though the words sounded slightly rough, Billy could detect the concern in them.

"Oh I do. But usually there's a real bed and a lovely woman involved," Billy replied, smiling at Casey over the fire. Casey stared unblinkingly back.

Michael and Rick got out of their tents at the same time, breaking up the staring match.

They broke up the small camp soon after. The faster they were back on the move, the longer they could follow the tracks until the rain started.

Rick had started to walk close beside Billy, asking about the tracks and Billy was happily explaining as he walked.

"And you can clearly see that these stones have been disturbed. The dirt is on top, when it shouldn't be. Someone must've kicked them and therefore turned around, exposing the underside. It's harder to say how long ago they've passed by with all the rain coming down. We're lucky the dirt wasn't washed away."

The tracks had been pretty clear and it had been, therefore, easy to follow them, so the team had made a good time passing the past few miles. But now, as he explained to Rick the little details in tracking humans, he also found different tracks. Tracks that were worrying him to an extent.

He hadn't told the rest of the team about his worries yet, since he couldn't be sure how old the tracks were, but now he stopped abruptly and even brought up his left arm to stop Rick beside him.

"We might have a wee bit of a problem," Billy said, not turning around to his team, instead examining the trees.

"What kind of problem?" Rick asked, eyes following Billy's as he tried to see what the Scot saw.

"Elephant tracks; you can see the round, fairly deep impressions close to the stream. We're probably using the same path as them. But they've passed here recently," Billy explained and pointed at the trees. "They've eaten, ripped the leaves off the branches with their trunks; you can still see the fresh break marks. There are also some green leaves on the ground. Could've passed by here maybe a day or so ago."

"You think the elephants have something to do with the missing kids?" Michael asked, slightly disbelieving Billy's suggestion.

"Aye. Elephants are not the gentle creatures people always think they are."

"They are mightily angry animals, especially since humans are taking their land," Casey added.

"If they really were attacked by elephants, what are their chances?" Rick asked, still staring at the height of the broken of branches.

"Depends on several factors. Just hope I'm wrong." Billy grinned wryly with that statement, but turned serious again soon and continued to walk parallel to the stream.

Billy didn't admit it, but this time he hated to be right. They found the camp of the missing group after maybe another hour. The brightly colored tents were trampled into the ground; mud was streaked across the partly ripped fabric. Pieces of equipment was strewn about, some clearly stepped on by an elephant. The four hiking packs the team managed to find had shared an equally bad end.

"No sign of any bodies, that's a good thing isn't it?" Rick was the first to speak after they had found the carnage left by the elephants.

"Yeah, that just means that they have been out in the jungle, without food and shelter and possibly injured for nearly four days," Casey remarked sourly.

"But don't worry, Rick. We'll find them," Billy stated confidentially. He knew that Casey preferred to be pessimistic, because then you couldn't be disappointed in the end. Billy often provided the more optimistic counterpoint, simply because he knew that it would keep the morale. It didn't matter whether he really believed what he said or not.

Billy was just about to start his circling search for human tracks again, when Rick stopped him.

"Can I help?" the younger operative asked, sounding hopeful. Neither of them were good at standing around and doing nothing, and with everything Billy had shown him this morning, the Scot was sure that he would be able to pick up at least the most basic tracks.

"Okay. Yell if you find anything that doesn't look round and deep."

The sound of thick drops hitting the leaves had Billy looking up in worry. He had known that it was going to rain today, but right now was the most inconvenient time for that. Seconds after the first splashing sounds were heard over the noises of the jungle, the leaves started to rustle in earnest and heavy rain found its way down.

Billy cursed under his breath as he was slowly soaked. The tracks were going to be obliterated soon. He bent down further, aware that Michael and Casey were now also on the lookout for anything that was out of context.

"Billy? I think I found something," Rick called and Billy looked up to find the other operative standing on the other side of the stream.

Billy crossed the space in a few, quick steps and looked at the boot print Rick had found. "Size twelve, maybe thirteen. Could be either of the boys," he said and slapped Rick's shoulder. "Good work."

The boot prints in the mud were slowly filling up with water and were disappearing, especially since the tracks hadn't been very clear from the start. The four kids had been running away from the campsite and only the tip of their boots had left a smeared impression. Several leaves and smaller branches, however, had also been broken off in their flight and these tracks were easier to follow and they held up against the driving rain

The tracks were weaving through the jungle; there was no clear direction in them. Which was understandable, given that the kids had been in sheer panic.

* * *

><p>In the end, they found the kids sitting desolately on the ground by a different stream. A weak fire was burning in the middle of their circle and they were slumped into their jackets, trying to escape the rain.<p>

When the ODS team stepped out of the underbrush, the four looked up, fear still etched in their faces.

"You must be Claire, Madeline, Brain and Warren," Michael said and stepped forward, trying to appear innocuous by showing them his open palms. "Your parents were worried when you didn't contact them and sent us out to look for you."

One of the boys, tall and blonde haired - Billy was able to identify him as Warren - stood up and placed himself protectively between the ODS and the girls. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michael, that's Billy, Casey and Rick. As I've said: your parents asked us to find you when you lost contact a few days ago," Michael explained, but left out the CIA part. At this point in time, it wasn't relevant information and considering the distrust of some of the CIA, it was probably better to keep that salient detail to themselves for now.

"Your parents are really worried," Billy added. "We have a satellite phone with us. Casey can call them now and you can speak to them, if you don't trust us."

Warren nodded and all four of the kids watched as Casey pulled the satellite phone out of his pack and then spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line. After a short conversation, he stepped forward and handed the phone over to Warren.

While the kids spoke with their respective parents, Casey had pulled out a map of the national park and, with a GPS device, located their current position. They had arranged several different extraction points while they had been flying to Gabon and had marked them on the map. A helicopter would be sent to the closest extraction point once they called in.

Together with Casey, Billy searched for the closest extraction point to their current location and then determined how long they were going to take until they reached it.

After the phone had been passed around the kids once, it was returned to Michael, who again assured the parents that their kids were safe and sound and then ordered the helicopter. When he had to estimate the arrival time, he looked at Billy. The Scot held up two fingers and saw Michael cringe as he passed on the number of days they would need.

Having finished the conversation, Michael threw the phone back at Casey, who caught it in one hand and returned it to his pack.

"The trip shouldn't be too hard," Billy said and drew his finger along the path they were going to take. "But we should be on the lookout for those elephants."

With Casey's help, the fire soon was burning stronger despite the still heavy downpour and the ODS team had handed out some of their food. While they were eating, Michael explained their next steps. The night was going to be rough for them, with just four pairs of sleeping bags and two tents between the eight, but it would only be for one night. Fortunately, had enough food and purifier tablets to last them through the next two days.

They started to hike toward the extraction point not even half an hour later. And not even five minutes into the return trip, Billy had a new companion. Claire Henderson walked close beside him, and Billy had to suppress the urge to step aside. The girl barely reached his shoulder, but when she wasn't looking at the ground in front of her, she was staring at him.

The silence in the group felt uncomfortable and Billy did what he was good at: he charmed and he talked. Billy started to talk about his own days at university and the pranks he pulled. Whether or not any of this had really happened was of minor importance; it helped to put the kids at ease and distract them from their current situation. Soon they also were telling stories about their own misdeeds at college.

Time passed quickly and Claire came closer and closer; by the end of the day, Billy was having trouble getting some time alone. When he did finally have a second to himself, because Claire was off with Madeline, call me Maddie, to refresh themselves now that they had set up camp, Rick sat down beside him. The younger operative was smirking, clearly ready to rib Billy.

"Seems like you got a new fan."

Billy actually grimaced at that, a reaction Rick probably didn't expect, "Yeah, but there is a time and place for anything. Now isn't the time for a crush. Especially since it's only because we saved her."

Rick was looking at him with questioning eyes and Billy had to remind himself that while the younger man had been on several missions already, he'd never come across a hero crush yet. "They were in a desperate situation: no food, no shelter. Suddenly we appear, offering them a way home, back to safety. Their bodies get rushed with endorphins. And sometimes these endorphins make them see their rescuers in a different, more amorous light. It's short lived and usually nothing good comes out of it."

Rick nodded, but before he was able to reply, Claire reappeared and sat down beside Billy, their legs touching. Billy tried to stay friendly but aloof, knowing that it would be over soon anyway. At least on the woman side; he was pretty sure that Michael and Casey wouldn't let that drop anytime soon considering the glances and half hidden smirks he'd seen all throughout the day.

It was a good thing then, that after six years as a team, he had some material to fire back with.

* * *

><p>By the next morning, the rain had stopped, but they were still soaked through. The ODS agents had let the kids sleep in the tents, and the only protection from the weather they'd had were the sleeping bags and leaves they they'd used to soften the ground.<p>

Billy's back was aching dully and his neck felt like it had gained a permanent kink, but judging by Michael's scrunched face, Casey's even more stoic face and Rick's stiff movements, the rest of his teammates felt the same. Still, they all picked up their packs and pushed on. In less than 10 hours they should be on that helicopter heading back home. And Billy planned to take a hot, long shower and then sleep for at least 12 hours, once they were back.

But for now, he was happy that the rain had mercifully stopped, even though they were stepping through ankle-deep mud. Sometimes it was easier to be chuffed about the little things in life.

Claire was still clinging close to him, telling him everything he never wanted to know about the rainforest and the different species that grew and lived there. She was an ecology major and obviously enjoyed her topic very much.

They had been walking for several hours already when Claire suddenly grabbed his hands and pulled him off the small path they were taking. Billy let out a surprised sound and stumbled behind her through the sparse underbrush.

"Oh you just have to see this," Claire said as she pulled him along. "I didn't recognize this at first, but we already went past this and it's so beautiful."

They came to a stop close to a cliff. It was maybe 35 feet high and was made up by ragged stones that were covered in moss. On the bottom of the cliff was a little lake, not very wide, but rather longish, with high trees and deep green fauna at its shore. The stream they had found the group at just a day ago rolled past them a few feet away and then crashed down the cliff and into the lake in a spectacular waterfall.

Billy couldn't suppress a small smile at the sight. Claire was right: it was really beautiful. Over the crashing of the water, he hardly heard the approaching footsteps of the rest of the group. What the water, however, didn't drown out was the loud trumping of an elephant. Billy's head whipped around to locate the origin of the call, while Claire flinched violently beside him.

In her sudden panic to find out where the elephant was, Claire lost her footing in the mud. Her hands began windmilling wildly and with Billy's hand still held in at tight grip, she managed to make him stumble too.

Billy tried to help her as he tried to keep his own balance, but with one hand still attached to Claire, who was flying uncontrollably through the air, and with the heavy backpack on his shoulders, he too started to skid the slippery ground.

And then Claire stepped into nothingness.

She shrieked in surprise and fear as her foot found nothing but air and a second later, she was falling, pulling Billy down with her.

With his right hand, Billy tried to grab anything close by, but the rock was too slick, and the next thing he felt was the bone jarring impact with the water. The impact drove whatever air he had left out his lungs and left his head ringing with disorientation. Water closed around him as Billy tried to regain his sense of up and down, but light spots were already dancing across his vision and his heavy pack was pulling him farther under. And with his lungs burning for oxygen, the world around him turned dark.

* * *

><p>The trumping of an elephant made the rest of the team look up in worry, but it was the small, scared shriek that had the group of six break out in a run.<p>

Michael and Casey had smirked at each other when Claire had pulled a clearly reluctant Billy off the path and into the forest, but nevertheless both men had followed them. It was never a good idea to get separated and when they heard that yell, they knew why.

They arrived at the cliff just in time to hear a splash. Michael's heart skipped a beat when he saw the disturbed mud at the edge of the cliff; he knew what it meant. Without stopping, Michael continued to run and searched for a safe way down the cliff. He didn't want to take the chance of injuring himself by jumping down the cliff behind Billy and Claire, no matter how quickly he wanted to get down there.

"Over here!" Casey called from a spot just a few feet to Michael's right. The other operative had also looked for a way down and had managed to find one first.

Both men stumbled down the incline, careful not to slip and fall themselves. They stopped at the shore, watching frantically over the flat surface and hoping to see Billy or Claire rise up. But the water remained calm and with his heart beating wildly in his throat, Michael tore off his backpack and threw it mindlessly aside. He saw Casey imitating his movements and seconds later, both men jumped into the warm water.

The visibility was limited. Bubbles rose from where the waterfall crashed into the lake and Michael was able to only see a few feet ahead of him not much farther.

With the current against him, Michael used strong, measured strokes to swim closer to the place where the waterfall hit the lake's surface. At the same time, he kept his eyes wide open, searching for Billy's dark blue shirt or Claire's beige colored one.

It was Casey who found them first. He tugged at Michael's arm and pointed to an area somewhere to his right and a bit deeper. And after a few seconds, Michael could see them, suspended and still in the water.

In just a few strokes, Michael was beside Billy. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Casey grabbing the girl and swimming to the surface with her. That, at least, was one thing less he had to worry about.

With his stomach clenching in worry and fear, Michael realized that Billy was still wearing his heavy backpack. As fast as he could, Michael began to pull the backpack off Billy. But it was hard work to open all clasps and precious seconds slipped past as he removed the shoulder straps. The longer it took, the more frantic Michael's heart beat; his lungs were already burning for oxygen and Billy had been under far longer.

Finally, the water logged bag slipped off and sank the last few inches to the ground. Michael placed his arm around the Scot's chest and began to push them to the surface.

The moment his head broke the surface, Michael took a huge, gulping breath. Billy, however, failed to do so and with his head rolling limply on Michael's shoulder, the ODS team leader fought against his tired muscles and swam toward the shore.

Rick had waded into the shallow water and the second Michael felt the sand underneath his feet, the younger operative grabbed one of Billy's arms and helped to pull the pliant Scot out of the lake and onto safe land.

Casey and Warren were already bent over Claire, performing CPR.

With slightly shaking fingers, Michael searched for a pulse at Billy's throat. He was prepared to find nothing, but it still sent a jolt of fear through when him he really couldn't detect the thump of life.

And with that, Michael switched off his mind. He couldn't think about Billy lying dead in front of him right now; he could only pray that they would be able to get him back. He tilted Billy's head back, pinched the nose closed and pressed his lips over blue ones to start rescue breathing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could barely see Billy's chest moving up and down. But as soon as he stopped breathing for Billy, the chest remained still again.

Rick had already positioned himself beside Billy's chest and the second Michael was looking up again, he started to pump Billy's heart. Each time the chest was depressed, Michael felt queasy, but knew that it had to be harder still for Rick. Water was trickling from Billy's mouth with every compression and Michael quickly turned the other man's head to the side, so that the water could harmlessly trickle onto the ground.

After Rick had finished the 30 compressions, Michael checked the pulse again, only to feel nothing. He gave Billy two more rescue breaths and watched as Rick bent over again and pressed down.

"I think I just broke a rib," Rick said, after ten more compressions. His face was twisted in worry, but still he continued to pump.

"Means you're doing it right," Michael said, trying to sound confident, "What's a broken rib against being alive?" With that, he started another cycle of CPR.

They repeated the cycle of breathing and pumping a third time, then a fourth time and with every new cycle, Michael's heart sank lower. It was taking too long to resuscitate Billy and slowly Michael was losing hope. And Rick was losing it, too; Michael could see it in the other agent's dark brown eyes.

Beside them, Claire suddenly started coughing and Michael let out a relieved sigh. At least Casey and Warren managed to save the young student. And it also gave him a new flash of hope. If Claire could come back, so could Billy.

With renewed vigor, they started another cycle and just as Rick was halfway through his round of chest compressions, Billy convulsed violently and started to cough. Reacting instantly, Michael rolled Billy on his side and watched as the Scot coughed up water, his whole body shaking with the effort.

Michael let his forehead fall on Billy's shoulder once the Scot stopped bringing up water and started to breathe raggedly. He left it there for just a moment, allowing himself this short second of exhaustion and relief, before he sat up again. There still was a whole group of people that trusted him to get back to civilization and he needed to check on Claire, too.

He gave Billy's shoulder another quick pat before he forced himself to his feet. His knees popped in protest after kneeling so long, but he ignored it.

Casey met him halfway between the two groups. Relief was clearly visible in his eyes as they focused past Michael and on Billy.

"We need to watch out for secondary drowning," Casey said and looked back to Michael.

"Yeah, I know. We need to get on the SAT too, tell them we're going to be late. I want to stay here for at least another hour."

Casey nodded. "I'll go get a fire started." With that, the older operative disappeared in the forest, searching for kindling.

Michael watched the college kids fuss over Claire for a second. He felt responsible for what had happened. He'd seen how Claire had crushed on Billy, had watched as she had thrown herself at him and hadn't done anything to stop it. Instead Michael had made jokes about it with Casey and Rick.

Michael knew how dangerous adrenaline crushes could be, but believing that this wasn't a dangerous situation, he had simply let it run its course and had nearly gotten Billy and Claire killed for it.

When he turned back around, Billy was watching him. The Scot was sitting halfway upright, using Rick as a shoulder rest. His lips were still slightly tinged blue and his breathing was bit irregular, but his eyes were clear and staring at Michael as if Billy knew exactly what his boss was thinking.

"You can't plan for everything, Michael. Especially not for bad luck and a slippery slope." And obviously Billy could read his mind, which after six years of working together probably shouldn't come as a surprise.

Michael smirked. "Maybe, but I can try." And he would always try, because none of his men were going to die on his watch, not when he had a say in the matter.

* * *

><p>The last leg of their hike was taxing. They had lost part of their provisions with Billy's pack and with Billy and Claire exhausted and weak legged, the trip took longer than planned.<p>

Billy knew that he was stumbling more often than not, and Michael was a constant presence at his side, catching him from time to time. But his legs were tired and he could feel his muscles quivering with exhaustion.

By the time they finally reached the helicopter, it was getting dark and he was starting to have problems breathing. Claire was also clearly using the last of her strength to step into the helicopter.

She fell tiredly into the seats in the back, her friends collapsing beside her.

The ODS team sat down in the row of seats opposite and Billy leaned his head back against the padding and closed his eyes as the helicopter lifted off.

"Don't go falling asleep now, Collins," Michael said and shook the other man's shoulder.

Billy sighed and coughed. "I think I earned my beauty sleep."

"That you did, but sleep still has to wait until we're at the hospital." This time Billy opened his eyes at Michael's request.

Still, the helicopter ride went by in a haze. Billy tried to keep his eyes open and his breathing regular and deep. But he knew that he was worrying his teammates with his unusual sluggishness.

Claire had fallen asleep not even five minutes into the flight and none of the colleges kids were able to wake her up again.

Because of the two medical emergencies, the helicopter didn't land at the airfield it started from, but rather directly by the local hospital.

The doctors put Billy and Claire on oxygen and forced them to stay for at least twenty-four hours. Billy slept for twelve of them.

When he woke up again, his team was sitting in chairs spread around the room.

"And sleeping beauty awakes," Casey greeted him.

With a grumble, Billy tried to sit up and scratched at the oxygen canula still placed around his face. Automatically Michael slapped his hand away and pushed him back down. "That stays on until the doctor says otherwise. And the doctor is a man, so forget about trying to charm your way out earlier." As he said that, Michael fumbled with the bed controls and seconds later Billy was sitting upright and faced his teammates.

"Not that it did any good with Claire," Billy said, sounding slightly guilty. "How is she?"

"She's fine, sleeping in another room. And don't go beating yourself up over what happened. You couldn't have known what would happen any more than I could," Michael replied.

"Yeah, this time your charm was actually working against you," Rick added, as he leaned forward. "But why didn't you go for it? Claire certainly is pretty."

"Because charming is hard work," Casey replied, before Billy could. "And it had no place in that jungle. Sometimes you just have to know when to turn it on and when to leave it off, right, Collins?"

"Says the man who wouldn't be able to charm the lollipop away from a three year old. But he's right. Sometimes it's better to know when to step back. And while Claire certainly is a very nice and dedicated person, she's also still just a girl," Billy said.

He wriggled a bit on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Casey was right, charming and talking was hard work, and while he knew that his team was always aware of that, it was nice to hear them acknowledge it out loud.

"You go on and enjoy the luxury of the Lambaréné general hospital for a few more hours, while we organize our flight back home," Michael said and got up from the chair closest to the bed.

"No more gulfstream?" Billy asked.

"No more gulfstream," Michael confirmed and with one last pat to Billy's shoulder, stepped out, Casey and Rick following close behind.

With a sigh, Billy watched the door close; he really had enjoyed the personal space the private airplane had offered them. Maybe he could use his charms on the airport employee and get them an upgrade into the business class.

* * *

><p>While the t-shirt fit him, the pants were a few inches too short. Rick and Casey had gone shopping for him - maybe that had been the mistake. But there was nothing he could do about it as he slipped his socked feet into his now dry hiking boots. The boots and his socks had been the only thing to survive his dunking in the lake; the rest of his clothing had been too muddy to even consider for washing.<p>

But he was released and in a few minutes his team would pick him up and they would fly home. He could manage looking dorky for a few hours.

There was a soft knock on the door and seconds later it opened and Claire stepped inside. She was clearly nervous and didn't enter the room any farther than a few steps.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" Billy asked first, after watching Clair bite her lip for a second or two.

"I'm fine thank you. But I should be asking you that. After all, if it weren't for me then you wouldn't be here."

Billy smiled at her. "Or I'd be lying in another hospital. You never know with my kind of job, lass. So don't go beating yourself up over it."

"Still, I feel guilty. I was too pushy and if I hadn't dragged you up there…"

"And if that elephant hadn't trumpeted, nothing would have happened. So why don't you blame the elephant? I certainly do. I'm seeing Dumbo in a totally different light now."

Claire finally smiled, if still a bit shyly. "Me too. Thank you, for saving us. All of us and please tell your friends too."

"It's our jobs, but you're welcome. Just don't go dawnering2 around the jungle anytime soon again: at least not without a proper guide."

Claire nodded and, just as she was about to slip out of the door again, the rest of his team stumbled in.

"Ah, Claire good to see you up and about again," Michael said, grinning at her.

"Yes, thank you. I'll be released in a few hours, and then we'll fly home. Our parents are waiting."

"Then have a great flight, we'll be off too," Michael said. With that, Michael turned back to Billy. "We won't be flying to Washington though. There's a little thing in Poland that needs doing."

"Do I have some time to find a pair of pants that fit?" Billy asked, looking down at his high-water pants.

Michael grinned and shook his head. "Nope. No time to spare. Another damsel in distress is waiting. Miss Henderson, if you please excuse us."

Billy shrugged and with a quick wave at Claire, he followed Rick, Casey and Michael down the hall.

He'd find some time to get a fitting pair of pants, one way or another; no one would take him serious like dressed like this. He just needed to convince his team that his wardrobe was of vital importance to any and every mission.

Grinning to himself, Billy thought that with a little charm and just the right leverage, such a task really shouldn't be too hard.

The End

* * *

><p>1: British term for rappeling<p>

2: scot. for dander


End file.
